The field of this invention relates to prosthetic implants designed to be implanted in the cornea for modifying the cornea curvature and altering the corneal refractive power for correcting myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and presbyopia, and, in addition, to such implants formed of a micro-porous hydrogel material.
It is well known that anomalies in the shape of the eye can be the cause of visual disorders. Normal vision occurs when light that passes through and is refracted by the cornea, the lens, and other portions of the eye, and converges at or near the retina. Myopia or near-sightedness occurs when the light converges at a point before it reaches the retina and, conversely, hyperopia or far-sightedness occurs when the light converges a point beyond the retina. Other abnormal conditions include astigmatism where the outer surface of the cornea is irregular in shape and effects the ability of light to be refracted by the cornea. In addition, in patients who are older, a condition called presbyopia occurs in which there is a diminished power of accommodation of the natural lens resulting from the loss of elasticity of the lens, typically becoming significant after the age of 45.
Corrections for these conditions through the use of implants within the body of the cornea have been suggested. Various designs for such implants include solid and split-ring shaped, circular flexible body members and other types of ring-shaped devices that are adjustable. These implants are inserted within the body of the cornea for changing the shape of the cornea, thereby altering the its refractive power.
These types of prostheses typically are implanted by first making a tunnel and/or pocket within the cornea which leaves the Bowman""s membrane intact and hence does not relieve the inherent natural tension of the membrane.
In the case of hyperopia, the corneal curvature must be steepened, and in the correction of myopia, it must be flattened. The correction of astigmatism can be done by flattening or steepening various portions of the cornea to correct the irregular shape of the outer surface. Bi-focal implants can be used to correct for presbyopia.
It has been recognized that desirable materials for these types of prostheses include various types of hydrogels. Hydrogels are considered desirable because they are hydrophilic in nature and have the ability to transmitting fluid through the material. It has been accepted that this transmission of fluid also operates to transmit nutrients from the distal surface of the implant to the proximal surface for providing proper nourishment to the tissue in the outer portion of the cornea.
However, while hydrogel lenses do operate to provide fluid transfer through the materials, it has been found that nutrient transfer is problematic because of the nature of fluid transfer from cell-to-cell within the material. Nutrients do not pass through the hydrogel material with the same level of efficacy as water. Without the proper transfer of nutrients, tissue in the outer portion of the cornea will die causing further deterioration in a patient""s eyesight.
Thus, there is believed to be a demonstrated need for a material for corneal implants that will allow for the efficacious transmission of nutrients from the inner surface of a corneal implant to the outer surface, so that tissue in the outer portion of the cornea is properly nourished. There is also a need for a more effective corneal implant for solving the problems discussed above.
The present invention is directed to a corneal implant formed of a biocompatible, permeable, micro-porous hydrogel with a refractive index substantially similar to the refractive index of the cornea. The device, when placed under a lamellar dissection made in the cornea (such as a corneal flap), to relieve tension of Bowman""s membrane, alters the outer surface of the cornea to correct the refractive error of the eye. By relieving the pressure and subsequent implantation of the device, the pressure points which typically are generated in present corneal surgeries are eliminated, and hence reduced risk to patients of extrusion of implants.
The implant is preferably generally circular in shape and is of a size greater than the size of the pupil in normal or bright light, and can specifically be used to correct hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, and/or presbyopia. Due to the complete non-elastic nature of the corneal tissue, it is necessary to place the implant in the cornea with Bowman""s membrane compromised, such as through a corneal lamellar dissection, to prevent extrusion of the implant from the cornea over the lifetime of the implant. Extrusion is undesirable because it tends to cause clinical complications and product failure.
Preferably, for the correction of hyperopia, the implant is formed into a meniscus-shaped disc with its anterior surface radius smaller (steeper) than the posterior surface radius, and with negligible edge thickness. This design results in a device that has a thickness or dimension between the anterior and posterior surfaces along the central axis greater than at its periphery. When such an implant is placed under the corneal flap, the optical zone of the cornea is steepened and a positive optical power addition is achieved.
For the correction of myopia, the implant is shaped into a meniscus lens with an anterior surface curvature that is flatter than the posterior surface. When the implant is placed concentrically on the stromal bed the curvature of the anterior surface of the cornea in the optic zone is flattened to the extent appropriate to achieve the desired refractive correction.
For astigmatic eyes, implants are fabricated with a cylindrical addition along one of the axes. This device can be oval or elliptical in shape, with a longer axis either in the direction of cylindrical power addition or perpendicular to it. The implant preferably has a pair of markers such as, for example, protrusions, indentations or other types of visual indicators, in the direction of the cylindrical axis to easily mark and identify this direction. This indexing assists the surgeon in the proper placement of the implant under the flap with the correct orientation during surgery to correct astigmatism in any axis.
For simple or compound presbyopia, the implant is made by modifying the radius of curvature in the central 1.5-3 mm, thereby forming a multi-focal outer corneal surface where the central portion of the cornea achieves an added plus power for close-up work. The base of an implant designed for compound presbyopia can have a design to alter the cornea to achieve any desired correction for the myopic, hyperopic, or astigmatic eye.
The material from which any one or more of these implants are made is preferably a clear, permeably, microporous hydrogel with a water content greater than 40% up to approximately 90%. The refractive index should be substantially identical to the refractive index of corneal tissue. The permeability of the material is effected through a network of irregular passageways such as to permit adequate nutrient and fluid transfer to prevent tissue necrosis, but which are small enough to act as a barrier against the tissue in growth from one side of the implant to another. This helps the transmembrane tissue viability while continuing to make the implant removable and exchangeable.
The refractive index of the implant material should be in the range of 1.36-1.39, which is substantially similar to that of the cornea (1.376). This substantially similar refractive index prevents optical aberrations due to edge effects at the cornea-implant interface.
The microporous hydrogel material can be formed from at least one (and preferably more) hydrophilic monomer, which is polymerized and cross-linked with at least one multi- or di-olefinic cross-linking agent.
The implants described above can be placed in the cornea by making a substantially circular lamellar flap using any commercially available microkeratome. When the flap is formed, a hinge is preferably left to facilitate proper alignment of the dissected corneal tissue after the implant is placed on the exposed cornea.
The implants described above which can be used for correcting hyperopia or hyperopia with astigmatism are preferably made into a disc shape that is nominally about 4.5 mm in diameter and bi-meniscus in shape. The center of the lens is preferably no greater than 50 micrometers thick. The edge thickness should be less than two keratocytes (i.e., about 15 micrometers).
An improvement over the lenses described above for correcting myopia with astigmatism includes forming a lens in the shape of a ring with one or more portions in the center being solid and defining voids in the center section for shaping the astigmatic component by providing solid portions under the flatter meridian of the astigmatic myopic eye. An example of such a shape includes a ring with a rib extending across the center that is either squared off or rounded where it contacts the ring. Another example is a ring with one or more quadrants filled in, with the other ones forming voids. Other shapes can used to provide a solid portion under the flatter meridan.